The Pacers acquired Barac in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft and have kept close tabs on the Croatian standout. Carr speaks to him regularly on the phone and makes periodic visits to Europe.

"These last couple of years, I've probably talked to Stanko as much as anybody," said Carr. "We have a great relationship. I talk to him all the time, making sure I know what he's going through, how he's feeling through the year. He's a great kid and he has blossomed into a really, really good player and it's been fun to talk with him as he goes through that."

As the Pacers lock in on Thursday's draft, Barac is something of a wild card. He's coming off a breakthrough season with Caja Laboral Baskonia (Spain), taking giant strides in his NBA readiness. The Pacers have a potential dearth of capable bodies in the frontcourt as Jeff Foster, Josh McRoberts and Solomon Jones all are free agents.

But a couple of factors complicate the process. For one, Barac signed a contract extension last November that ties him to his Spanish team through 2015, meaning the Pacers would have to execute a buyout to bring him to the NBA. For another, even if all parties involved considered this the right time to make the move, the looming uncertainty with the league's labor situation is a deterrent.

"Certainly whenever the market opens, I think it's a conversation we're going to entertain and discuss not only with him but his team over in Spain," said General Manager David Morway. "No question about it, he's ready to come over to the NBA. He had a very good year. He's one of the better big men in Europe.

"He's a skilled (center), he's 7-foot-2, he can shoot the ball or score on the block and he knows how to play. It's going to take a period of adjustment but he certainly can become a quality backup in this league and hopefully more."

Stepping into the starting lineup after Tiago Splitter joined the San Antonio Spurs last season, Barac averaged 22.5 minutes, 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in EuroLeague play, shooting .577 from the field and .625 from the 3-point line.

"He's a center, I would say in the mold of a Rasho Nesterovic," said Carr. "He can really shoot the ball but he's also really effective on the block. He understands how to move on the floor. He's not the greatest athlete but his IQ on the floor helps him move in a way that puts him in the right spots.

"He has played for a coach that is disciplined and tough so he knows how to be coached. He has played in a system with a lot of pick-and-rolls, which will help him when he gets here and I think most of all, this year especially he has gained a lot of confidence in himself and in his game after playing behind Splitter for a number of years. This has been a great year for him."

The timing was never right for Erazem Lorbek, a second-round pick of the Pacers in 2005 who became a star in Europe and opted to remain overseas. Will it ever be right for Barac?

"There has to be timing between us and their team coming to an agreement and a time where Stanko feels like he's ready to come," Carr said. "I think he's a good player. I think he could add something to our team and I'd like to see him here but at the same time there are a lot of factors that have to come together." Seems like we do really have the intention of bringing over The Stanko. What stood out to me more than anything is "the timing was never right for Lorbek." I was under the assumption him coming stateside was still a possibility, apparently not, that's disappointing.

Ozwalt72

06-20-2011, 08:39 PM

http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/blog_brunner.html
What stood out to me more than anything is "the timing was never right for Lorbek." I was under the assumption him coming stateside was still a possibility, apparently not, that's disappointing.

Maybe, but that looks like Brunner's throw in, and not information directly from the team like the bit about Ol' Stanko Barac.

cdash

06-20-2011, 09:33 PM

If he comes over, I request, nay, I demand he put "Stanko" on the back of his jersey.

CableKC

06-20-2011, 09:53 PM

I really hope that Brunner is simply laying the groundwork for Stanko to joining us here in the US this season as a Frontcourt mate to Hibbert and Hansbrough.

Hicks

06-20-2011, 11:31 PM

If he comes over, I request, nay, I demand he put "Stanko" on the back of his jersey.

About like Hansbrough's statistics: 11.0 points/5.2 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.

Glad to see Lorbek is apparently doing well -- it says at least a little something about the Pacers and their foreign player-evaluation capabilities.

ilive4sports

06-21-2011, 12:11 AM

You lost me here :confused:

See Yao Ming, he has Yao on the back of his jersey.

Slow news time if we are talking about Stanko coming over.

Hicks

06-21-2011, 12:16 AM

You lost me here :confused:

In at least some Asian cultures (maybe all of them; but I wouldn't know), the family name comes before the individual name.

In other words, Joe Smith here would be (if for some reason they happened to have a Western Euro name like ours) Smith Joe.

Yao Ming's "first name" is Ming, not Yao, but on the back of a jersey, we put our family name, so that's why his jerseys says "Yao" and not "Ming".

Therefore, if Stanko Barac were, say Chinese, his jersey would say "Stanko" on the back of it instead of Barac.

ECKrueger

06-21-2011, 12:59 AM

:tmyk:

Also, I hope he comes over, if only so StankoLover becomes a regular.

Pacersalltheway10

06-21-2011, 01:16 AM

I am the 2nd biggest STANKO fan ever. GO STANKO!!!

Frostwolf

06-21-2011, 02:11 AM

I am the 2nd biggest STANKO fan ever. GO STANKO!!!

good to see you know your place. stankolover will give you lots of respect for that.

Peck

06-21-2011, 02:44 AM

What I read here was Brunner putting the boot to Lorbek ever coming and showing that the likelyhood of Barac ever coming is minute at best.

Understand not only would the Pacers have to sign him to a contract they would also have to make a payout to the Euro team he is signed with till 2015.

They are probably not going to do that for a player who will probably be a 9-15th player.

Heisenberg

06-21-2011, 02:51 AM

What I read here was Brunner putting the boot to Lorbek ever coming and showing that the likelyhood of Barac ever coming is minute at best.

Understand not only would the Pacers have to sign him to a contract they would also have to make a payout to the Euro team he is signed with till 2015.

They are probably not going to do that for a player who will probably be a 9-15th player.
Unless he's got some outlandish buyout with his Euro club I don't think it's "minute at best" territory. It doesn't even matter how big it is, the franchise can only offer $300k towards it, he'd have to pay the rest out of pocket.

Midcoasted

06-21-2011, 03:43 AM

So we would only have to pay 300k to buy him out? I wonder how much he would have to pay?

I thought Lorbek was for sure coming because he can opt out this year and that earlier article had my hopes high.

Heisenberg

06-21-2011, 04:00 AM

So we would only have to pay 300k to buy him out? I wonder how much he would have to pay?

I thought Lorbek was for sure coming because he can opt out this year and that earlier article had my hopes high.
NBA rules dictate the franchise can only pay 300k towards it. At least, I think. I have no idea what his buyout's like, but signing a 5 year deal just last offseason I assume it wouldn't be cheap.

wintermute

06-21-2011, 04:22 AM

I think the team can contribute up to 500k, not 300k, to a player's buyout. But otherwise Heisenberg is correct.

I'll also surprised to hear that it's Stanko and not Lorbek we're thinking of bringing over. In terms of contract and development, Lorbek seems the more likely candidate to make the jump. Oh well, I guess we'll see.

ksuttonjr76

06-21-2011, 10:08 AM

In at least some Asian cultures (maybe all of them; but I wouldn't know), the family name comes before the individual name.

In other words, Joe Smith here would be (if for some reason they happened to have a Western Euro name like ours) Smith Joe.

Yao Ming's "first name" is Ming, not Yao, but on the back of a jersey, we put our family name, so that's why his jerseys says "Yao" and not "Ming".

Therefore, if Stanko Barac were, say Chinese, his jersey would say "Stanko" on the back of it instead of Barac.

All these years of watching him play, and I never gave thought to why it said Yao on his jersey although he goes by Yao Ming :o .

PR07

06-21-2011, 10:22 AM

So Lorbek's never coming over then? That's a bummer.

Peck

06-21-2011, 11:35 AM

I have got to find it but somewhere either a year ago or maybe even two Brunner said in an article that the Pacers had no intention of bringing either over.

The question then was as it is now, if that is the case why waste a pick on Lorbek & why make a trade to get Barac?

Trader Joe

06-21-2011, 11:39 AM

Bring on the Stank.

naptownmenace

06-21-2011, 12:18 PM

I got the opposite impression after reading this.

The Pacers are interested in bringing Stanko over. This is like the 3rd Stanko Barac themed "Caught in the Web" article that we've received from Conrad just this season alone.

The last one in January mentioned that the Pacers were still interested in having him join the team. There have also been at least 2 or 3 other articles stemming from Europe that the Pacers will make an attempt to sign him this Summer.

Just look up the most recent Stanko thread from last week for more info.